


Ghost Fleet Septimus

by defiasstone2



Category: Warhammer 40.000
Genre: F/M, Gen, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, POV Original Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-11-14
Packaged: 2018-12-09 07:08:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11664138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/defiasstone2/pseuds/defiasstone2
Summary: In the wake of Hive fleet Behemoth, much is told of the heroic sacrifices of the Ultramarines chapter, the battle of Maccrage and the many heroes associated with it. However, these were not the only heroes of the first Tyrannic war, countless systems were consumed in the path of the Hive Fleet before it was finally stopped. This is the tale of one such system, and the work of it's brave inhabitants as they prepared themselves for the onslaught to come...





	1. A Council of war

_ My name is Aquila, once Vice Governor of the Merdythia system in the Ultramar Sector. I use the word once because, according to the most recent of Imperial Calendars that we have found on our travels, all the planets in the system we once called home have been lifeless hulks for the best part of a century.  _

_ Home was destroyed in the advance of the terrible Xenos fleet designated in the aftermath as Hive Fleet Behemoth, the foul Tyranids on the path to their own destruction at the Ultramarines Space Marines owned planet of Macragge. Precise details of how such a host of ships were destroyed are vague at best, but the broad details are that it came under assault of the Imperial Navy, the Ultramarines’ own fleet and even the mysterious Eldar.  _

_ Not that such information is easy to obtain these days, due to my actions during the apocalyptic campaign as well as our unfortunate cursed existence, I was branded a traitor along with all those who served under me. The official reasoning behind the excommunication order was that I evacuated the sparsely populated planets of Uqinox (pronounced Uck-e-no) and Scythia, and had their populations warped to safety rather than standing and fighting to the last.  _

_ But, if I were to have a wild stab in the dark, my branding a heretic was for publicly denouncing the orders of the Governor of the system, and inciting a coup that toppled him from power.   _

_ The coup was for the best intentions, Governor Voss had been severely hindering the progress of the System’s defence from the outset, and towards the end he was declared an active security risk by an Inquisitorial party present at the time. But for the most part in the Imperium, it is the actions and the threat they pose to the iron fist grasp they maintain over the overall galactic populace that matter, rather than strategic or moral intent. _

_ We managed to save over 5 billion men and women, nearly half of whom were civilians, spiriting them away on board of the transport vessels and battleships of Battlefleet Septimus. The fleet were under the command of Admiral Quarrus, a man who had faced the foul Xenos before and agreed with my idea of asset denial, as it had become clear the fleet was feasting on the worlds it overcame. With each and every person we saved, we denied the hive fleet mass with which to continue its advance into Imperial space. _

_ I went a step further and was prepared to perform the ultimate tactic of asset denial, when my trusted guardsmen knocked me unconscious and sent me on the last transport to the fleet, even as the hive fleet arrived in its full and devastating glory. The majority of Battlefleet Septimus fled into the warp, our astropaths screaming as they did so, their mystical third eye bleeding and weeping pus as they attempted to pierce the warp shadow the Tyranids cast in front of their advance.  _

_ I woke just in time to receive the feed of the unmanned sensor ship’s vid feeds, showing the millions upon millions of hive spores rocketing towards the planet I grew up on, and had been prepared to die for. From the reports we have gained from sympathetic Imperial forces, the death of the planet caused significant damage to the Hive Fleet, and considerably slowed its advance. That my home is now little more than clumps of rock and space dust because of that does little to make me feel at all proud of the damage we inflicted, even if it was the most effective thing we could do. _

_ The fact that billions upon billions of men women and children died when they were under my protection did not cause those that are on the ships to hate me for what I have done. Instead they view me as their saviour, saving their lives so that they may continue fighting the dreaded enemy in the Emperor’s name.  _

_ My name is now Commander-General Aquila of Ghost Fleet Septimus, and this is the tale of how we gained our title. _

Chapter 1: They are Coming.

A shadow across the warp, a thousand chattering voices in unison, casting their presence before them. That is how our Astropaths and sanctioned psykers described the approaching xenos fleet. It approached at a ponderous but relentless rate, smashing aside system defences in it’s path like a hammer upon glass.

We had of course, received visual and verbal reports from the wide eyed survivors and refugees on the few transport ships that managed to survive the terrors of the warp travel to our system, as well as the official feedback from the few surviving scout vessels and fleet ships that survived such encounters. 

The refugees spoke of dread horrors in the night, and an endless rain of flesh and bone from the sky that blotted out suns and hives with almost unbelievable ease. The fleet ships reported an enemy that knew no fear or cared for their own lives, delaying tactics such as minefields and defence stations doing nothing to slow the Tyranid fleet advance.

My superior, and ruler of the Merdythia system for almost 40 years, was a man whose ‘official’ title was Supreme Governor and Commissar General Luthor Voss. He was a man who espoused Faith as a merit above all else, and had long claimed that the day to day running of the sector was not his concern, such ‘unimportant’ activities at risk of impacting his ‘brilliant organisational strategy’.

In other words, Voss focussed on his standing as ‘The sector’s most faithful servant’ and did regular and lengthy orations to ensure the people knew ‘who was the one they should praise along with the Emperor’, whilst leaving everything else to those below him. Therefore when news of the Tyranid fleet heading in the direction of Merdythia reached us, he acted in accordance with his increasingly bizarre and lazy lifestyle. In a speech broadcast to every population hub in the sector, Voss invoked the Emperor’s name, stating that each and every man over the age of 18 was to enlist in the militia and prepare to defend their system from the blasted xenos. 

Then, with his ‘brilliant’ contribution to the war effort accomplished, he sequestered himself in his quarters with his personal advisors and favourites, claiming he was doing  _ important work  _ and was not too be disturbed no matter what.

This of course left the actual planning and defence of the system in the hands of the three senior administrators, Kell, Jarren and Osthio, and I. After a meeting amongst ourselves, so that I could brief them of the threat level as well as the more classified information I had received from both legal and less than legal sources, we decided that there was no other choice. We would have to hold a full war council for the first time in the history of the Merdythia sector, since the Ultramarines had liberated the planet almost 6 millenia before, and reveal onto them the true threat of what we were facing.

I sat patiently at the head of the large dark marble table as I waited for the rest of the council to arrive. The administrators sat on my right as they always had, their datapads and scrolls making each of them take the space of at least two normal people. About 15 minutes before the meeting started the representatives of the noble houses arrived, one after the other, not talking and merely eyeing each other cautiously. 

Given the prestige and power that came with such a position, those that filled the representative roles could change quite quickly if they were careless, so it was not surprising that each Noble brought a squad of bodyguards. These men would remain under the watch of my own personal bodyguard platoon, to ensure that nothing violent would occur between them and ruin the atmosphere of the meeting. 

At exactly two minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin, Colonel Kergis of the 1 st Merdythia Corps arrived in his usual disciplined manner. The Colonel burst through the door and marched into the room, flanked by Lieutenant Rodgers and Captain Santez in perfect sync, as if all three were listening to the same silent drumbeat. 

The Colonel was a tall stocky man just under 6 ½ feet tall that could bench press twice his own weight with little difficulty, just like many of our hivers, which put him in sharp contrast to his aides. Lieutenant Rodgers was a slender blonde female in her early 30’s, from the planet of Scythia, her dark skin a distinct feature of the planet’s inhabitants. Captain Santez was a small and unassuming man, barely 5 foot 7” and almost rakishly thin with a predatory look almost permanently etched onto his face, though I am assured by Colonel Kergis he is a dangerous man with either lasgun or blade in hand.

Following in behind them were Lieutenant Elizia Derosa and Sergeant Major Damian Baird, from the fledgling 2 nd Merdythia Guardsman corps, both doing their best to match the disciplined show of the other three officers. Lieutenant Derosa was a Noble born woman in her early twenties, though given her time in her house’s unofficial gang she had more scars than some of his longest serving Guardsmen. Sergeant Major Baird on the other hand was a voidborn in his 50’s, though he had a youthful look that matched his attitude, often acting like a man half his age.

Lieutenant Derosa sent me an apologetic look as they came to a stop by their allocated seat, which I assumed was due to the lack of their commanding officer, Colonel Volander. It didn’t really surprise me, as the new commander was deep in Voss’s pocket, so he had probably ignored my summons to attend to whatever foolishness Governor Voss was currently enacting. 

Colonel Kergis and Lieutenant Derosa sat directly to my right, the others standing behind them and Sergeant Major Baird looking considerably more relaxed than his counterpart. Obviously the two had decided who was going to face me directly given their lack of commanding officer, probably by drawing the tarot or some other ridiculous game of chance. 

As the scheduled time appeared on my chrono, the doors of the conference room opened for what would hopefully be the last time. Silhouetted against the early afternoon sun in the background was the tall and imposing figure of Admiral Quarrus, the pale and gangly voidborn man in charge of Battle fleet Septimus. He and the remnants of his forces had been fighting hit and run actions against the advancing armada for almost a year now, and he had been a major source of information and knowledge on what could be expected. 

A ship brat orphaned at a young age, Admiral Quarrus always with the habit of arriving exactly on time to a meeting, no matter whether or not he could have got there any earlier. This was evidenced by the fact he had spent the afternoon with me in my private quarters, the two of us reminiscing over old cases of smugglers and pirates rather than the monstrosity approaching us, a luxury that would soon be impossible to allow time for.

However, as Admiral Quarrus began to walk into the room his figure was eclipsed by the much bulkier figure in pitch black power armour that walked in from the direction of the entrance to my compound. Whilst the almost 9 foot tall figure of myth was certainly the attention grabbing figure, it was smaller, feminine figure that walked in behind the space marine that drew my gaze. She didn’t walk so much as stalk into the room, an air of authority and power exuded from her body language that I had not seen from anyone other than the fabled Adeptus Astartes, that I had occasionally had dealings with during my time as Vice Governor.

Such arrogance usually only meant one thing and I stood hastily, my eyes drawn to the skull like insignia on the shoulder pad of the power armoured figure. The nobles had also noticed the sign and followed my hasty actions, bowing to the space marine who they obviously thought was in charge. I instead bowed to the young woman who was still stood with Quarrus, knowing that the Inquisitor had sent the power armoured figure in first for this exact reason and refusing to play such games.

“Inquisitor, I had no idea that any of the Inquisition had any interest in our system, shall I alert Governor Voss for you? He is probably the most suitable to help with your needs.” My actions drew a small smile from the female as she shook her head, her blonde hair swaying lightly at the motion, and she reached up with a dainty hand to move the errant locks back into place in a manner that was both seductive and economical at the same time. 

“There will be no need to inform this Voss person, Admiral Quarrus informed me that you had called this War Council. So therefore it is you, Vice-Governor Aquila, that I am interested in talking with.” The nobles had worked out that they had been bowing to the wrong person, and all three tried to apologise graciously, cause the Inquisitor to frown slightly before waving her hand imperiously.

"Quiet! Now, be seated. The faster this meeting begins, the faster we can take action against these terrible Xenos.” She turned her head towards the power armoured figure, and I was surprised to see the Space Marine stiffen slightly under her gaze.

“Brother Ios, if you could please wait outside and make sure that no one else disturbs us?” The figure half nodded and then paused, as if realising what the instruction meant and had nodded as a reflex rather than in agreement, speaking in the measured and level tone that Adeptus Astartes were known for.

“Are you sure my Lady? I don’t know if I should leave you al…” The Inquisitor’s eyes narrowed fractionally and the newly named Ios stopped hastily, which I noticed with some interest. 

“Of course my Lady, your will be done.” With the decision made for him Ios turned and stomped back to the doors, his heavy footfalls punctuating the cracking of the delicate floor tiles beneath his feet. 

With the required personnel gathered and no more likely surprises I indicated to my guards for the doors to be closed, the Inquisitor taking the opportunity to sit down at the far side of the almost round table, directly in front of my own seat. 

“Whenever you are ready Governor. Time is lives given the threat.” Her voice now contained a underflow of something that I couldn’t identify, and the idea to jump straight to the main reason for this meeting bubbled in the back of my head, but I shook it off and nodded in agreement.

“As you have all no doubt heard, a massive and terrible Xenos fleet approaches our sector, it is reported the armada is of a magnitude never seen before. Despite the most gallant efforts of our our esteemed Imperial Navy, the forces available to the Septimus sector will not be able to prevent the fleet from reaching our sector.” I waved my hand towards the table in front of the Council and a three dimensional view of our sector appeared, courtesy of a techpriest waiting at the side of the room watching my every move.

“This is our sector, this is our home. I have come up with a plan for the defence, but it focuses mainly on the defence of Merdythia itself, as the other two planets are too sparsely populated to form a reasonable defence.” It was interesting to see how little reaction Rodgers gave to the news of her planet being abandoned, but given the stories I heard about the lifestyle there she probably didn’t miss it too much. I continued on with my directions, I could talk to Colonel Kergis at a later point if I thought it might be a more serious issue.

“Admiral, would it be possible to transport the populations of those planets to here? Give us more men to fight with against the enemy?” Quarrus nodded after a moment of thought, which was hardly surprising as we had discussed the idea before. 

He was noticeably nervous of the Inquisitor’s presence at the end of the table, with good reason I thought harshly,  the Inquisition were never good news to anyone they met with.

“Aye, though it would take time, maybe two weeks to get the word out and get them gathered. Probably another week to get them boarded, but it’s certainly feasible.” I nodded.

“Good, now let us find out what we have to fight the enemy with,  Colonel Kergis?” The man nodded and stood, not even looking at the papers he had brought with him as he started a speech he had probably memorised days ago.

“As of muster today, the Merdythia Marauders have 500,000 infantrymen fully trained and ready to fight. Including defence forces for the Sector as well we have almost a million true Guardsmen and 1.5 million conscripts that have just finished their required training, not including administration and command aides. Our ammo is well stocked and we have a full quota of heavy weapons and mortars, with crews ready and trained to use them. Our Sentinel numbers are below the required amount due to difficulties in production in the last quarter, though given the defensive nature of this attack this will not be a huge issue. Our other mechanised units are fully prepared however, meaning we have nearly 10,000 Leman Russ tanks, and 1,000 Basilisks ready and functioning, though most of these are currently fixed defence emplacements around the various Hives.” He took a breath, his face red with the constant stream of words before he continued.  

“Our auxiliary units consist of almost 300,000 men and women from the two outlying planets, with another 500,000 people on those planets that have done conscription in the last 10 years, so will be able to fight effectively as well. Lastly we have 400 Lightning Hawk fighters, 200 Marauder Bombers and 4,000 Valkyries make up our air support.” Colonel Kergis sat back down, looking quietly pleased with himself despite his best efforts to remain professional as Lieutenant Derosa stood uncertainly.

She drew herself up and repeated something to herself silently several times, that looked ominously like the Emperor’s prayer for mercy before beginning to speak nervously, causing me to arch an eyebrow. Had I really made myself out to be that much of a bogeyman that the Guardsmen were nervous of my response to their expected subpar report? Whilst I liked to be known as a man who abhorred bad performance, I didn’t want to get to the point where people started trying to lie to me to try and avoid such a result.

“My lords, as of this morning, we have 650,000 men and women as part of our infantry platoons in the Second Corp. These guardsmen are mainly made up of underhivers, so they are experienced in combat for the most part but undisciplined. Our conscription quotas were reduced by 30% by Colonel Volander, who claimed it would help save fuel and ammunition from training the recruits. The training itself has been sporadic, as Volander prefers to focus on drill and parade form rather than fighting prowess.” 

She shivered slightly under my unwavering stare and I couldn’t help but feel slightly sorry for her, having only been in a position of command for three months, it was natural that she was feeling the strain of such a difficult position. Sergeant Major Baird stepped in, obviously trying to save their corps pride. 

“Our Equipment is all well maintained and due to the lack of training, we have enough surplus heavy weaponry to fit 5 additional heavy weapons companies and their infantry attachments. Our vehicles have been maintained by myself and our cadre of tech priests, and I can offer our full complement plus 100 extra Leman Russ’s, twenty Leman Russ Vanquishers and 1 Shadowsword super heavy tank.” I will admit, that last detail was the first piece of information that I hadn’t known of as I walked in, and I could see I wasn’t the only one. 

Kergis looked outraged at what he no doubt saw as a gross case of military misconduct, but before he could build up sufficient fury to start one of his parade ground rants he was famous for, the Inquisitor spoke up in a serious but still polite manner that had my back hairs rise. 

“It is evident your superiors didn’t know of these developments Sergeant Major, why did you keep it to yourself?” Sergeant Major Baird was now sweating rather heavily under the additional attention he was now receiving, but kept his head high as he started to try and explain his actions. 

“Governor Voss decreed that the Shadowsword tank, which was badly damaged during the taking of this planet almost 6 millenia ago, should be left as it was as proof of the Emperor's power rather than repaired so that it could be used once more. So, if I had told anyone I would have just ended up on charges and the thing melted down or worse.” I nodded, it sounded like the type of ridiculous law Governor Voss would pass when I wasn’t looking or from before I rose to my current position of power. I decided that such creative and positive behaviour needed to be rewarded for the prize we were presented with. 

“In this case, your ingenuity is a boon to us Sergeant Major, I assume you must have had the sacred blueprints to the machine in order to repair it?” Baird nodded unsurely, not following my line of thought, and it was evident by the raised eyebrows in the room that he wasn’t the only one. 

The Inquisitor again was the one to ask the question, the others either knowing me well enough or patient enough to wait for me to start explaining.

“Why do you ask Governor, what is your plan?” I grinned, and motioned again, the screen changing to that of Merdythia Prime, the main hive on the planet, pop up windows of Secundus and Teritas Hives visible in the corners of the screen. 

“The enemy's fleet power is overwhelming according to the reports, though it is supposedly much easier to assault them whilst they are engaged in ground support operations, so we cannot expect our fleet to control their landing area. Given this, we cannot force the enemy to a field of our choosing whilst protecting our population centres themselves, therefore the hives themselves will be where we shall fight the aliens to a standstill when they do launch their invasion force. We have heard of the rain of spores they use as a bombardment and landing tool in the reports, to counter this, we shall concentrate our AA protection over this small area.” I motioned and a 10 km boundary around the hive’s outer walls appeared, similar smaller boundaries appearing around the two smaller hives.

“This will mean the enemy will attack the hive walls on foot, and therefore have to pass our brave men and women of the Imperial Guard. And in addition to the strength and faith of our troops, they will also have to deal with the true strength of the Imperial Guard, our formidable array of righteous firepower that we can lay down against them.” I looked over at the Noble representatives  pointedly before speaking to them directly for the first time. 

“Lord Vectis, the High districts are to switch to the production of AA guns, emplacements and ammo, including the two factories currently producing weapons for various militia bands. Don’t think I don’t know what the production figures should be.”  The tallest of the nobles looked shocked and angry that I had discovered his ploy, but I moved on too swiftly for him to protest. 

“Premier Ajax, the Western districts will switch to the production heavy weapons, we must have superior firepower to stop them reaching the Hive itself! You are too co-ordinate with Sergeant Major Baird and his tech priests in producing some more Shadowswords. If we can produce even half a dozen more of those mighty machines, they shall be more than worth the effort.” Without pausing I turned to the last of the nobles, the man barely in his twenties and with a boyish look about him that matched his age, if not his attitude. 

This Noble was a recent rising star that I didn’t know as well as the others, who had led his house to the top by toppling a succession of steadily more prominent houses through inter house wars and under the table dealings. This all occurred within two years of his father's death at the hands of a rival house’s assassins, though some like to slander and ruminate that the assassins were hired by the heir himself. 

“Lord Davies, you are to produce the weapons and ammo that will be required to arm our citizens, they shall fight with us against this threat.” Lord Davies nodded and looked over to Colonel Kergis. 

“Colonel, I have 500 militiamen that are armed, trained and ready to fight. They know their way round the hives and excel at close quarters.” Before anyone could comment on the unknown precedent that the noble had set, Lord Davies turned back to me. 

“I will also order the opening of our house warehouses and armouries to you Governor. What is in there is currently unknown to me, having just recently taken the mantle of Head of my house. But I shall endeavour to have a rough estimate to you by tomorrow evening.” This move by Davies was interesting to say the least, and I couldn’t help but grin at the looks on the other two noble’s faces as I nodded my head. 

“That is most generous of you Lord Davies, this shall be remembered. Now my lords, I ask that you start preparing you men and factories for the coming months. We shall work out more detailed requirements and production targets soon, but first I must finalise the defence positions with the Guardsmen.” The nobles nodded, understanding my dismissal for what it was without any protest and stood quickly, heading out of the room hastily but not before bowing to the Inquisitor once more.

As my aides unlocked the doors and opened them to allow the nobles out I could barely hold in a laugh, the three nobles forced to step cautiously around the hulking Astartes that stood in the entranceway, if the Astartes had been stood any closer to the doors he would have been leaning against/through them. As the doors closed again I took the liberty of leaning back in my chair slightly, glad that stage one of this scheme was over and done with. 

“Well, none of them are panicking yet, that must mean that it has gone better than expected.” To my surprise it was the Inquisitor that laughed whilst Colonel Kergis frowned, no doubt disappointed by my momentary lapse in professional conduct, before speaking his concerns out loud to me and the table as a whole.

“That is true, though Vectis may still be trouble yet, he is not used to being out-politicked by you still, especially in front of the others. And I wouldn't trust that Davies boy with my shoelaces, when a Noble offers you something like that it’s either a lie or a trap.” That thought sobered the mood once more and I nodded.

“True, but whatever they plan, the Xenos may beat them to our ruination if we are not careful.” I leaned forward once more, determined to get the focus back onto the looming swarm of monstrosities bearing down upon us. 

“Now Colonel, speak to me of defence. Administrators, speak to me of supplies and equipment.” Colonel Kergis paused for a moment before beginning, this was not part of the meeting he could have prepared for in advance, so he had to think through his recommendations carefully.

“I suggest that we clear the land around the hive itself as much as possible, if the enemy has to charge us through open and level terrain they will be easier targets for our men to gun them down. We may want to consider a series of trenches, for our guardsmen to fire from whilst our heavy weapons cover from the walls above.” I nodded; it was a good plan to begin with. Sergeant-Major Baird looked at the 3-D image, and then pointed at two sections of the wall with a furrowed brow.

“These areas of the fortifications are poorly maintained, we will need to strengthen them. In fact, we should reinforce the entire wall structure as well as the gates themselves, they are not built to withstand this kind of attack.” Lieutenant Derosa chimed in next, seemingly more confident now that I hadn’t shouted at her and Sergeant-Major Baird for their actions and those of Colonel Volander. 

“Also the sewage gates will need to be blocked to stop infiltrators, we have heard rumours of assassin creatures in the underhives from survivors of other planets in the Xeno’s advance. It will be hard to find every exit from the hive, but I can have some of my personal squads sweep the underhive after this Council meeting, ensure none of these creatures are already here.” I had to give it to the two of them, they were more than enough to make up for the ineptness of Colonel Volander. 

It was a shame that I could not overrule Governor Voss and have one of them made Colonel, certainly Colonel Kergis wouldn't mind a competent adversary for the theoretical war games he had run since the founding of the Second Corp a decade ago, Volander was known toflounder and fluster whenever his initial plan was disrupted. Speaking of, I nodded to Colonel Kergis, taking advantage of the silence that followed Lieutenant Derosa’s comment to start laying a strategy in place. 

“Your men are to move out and bring as many of the peoples of hive Secondus and Teritas here as possible. PDF members and gangers have priority, especially if they bring weapons and equipment, we will need every gun we can get. We can probably fit another 5 million souls here if we properly clear the under hives and construct temporary shelters, but first we must get the people moving.” He nodded and whispered to Captain Santez, who stood up and left silently with my quick nod of approval, obviously to go and carry out that order. 

Then, I turned my attention to the three Administrators, and as was typical of the three, Kell went first, being the most forward and talkative given his Noble upbringing.

“I have held in our starports the last two shipments of weaponry and equipment that were to be sent to the Agryppia crusade, which means we have a million suits of flak armour and enough weapons to probably make a third regiment of Guardsmen.” I nodded, for all his pomp and proprietary Kell could certainly do his job, and that job was keeping me happy. Osthio summoned his courage, the adept much more used to just delivering his reports to me alone rather than in front of so many imposing figures. 

“I, I have been checking our food stores during the meeting and calculating the incoming numbers of refugees, we have enough food for almost 3 months once the hive fleet cuts off our supplies from the agri worlds. In terms of medicine and other essentials, we are well stocked, a-and I have already ordered the guard to be tr-tripled around the silos and water pumps in case of rioters.” Jarren continued without a break, his strong and deep baritone voice a stark contrast to Osthio’s stuttering and tremoring, the tech priest rumoured to have been trained on Mars itself. 

“I have been in contact with the Arbites, they are preparing to begin culling the underhives of any mutant activity, we don’t want to be fighting a war on two fronts. The Ecclesiarch are activating their militia, they should be ready in a week, and should be useful to throw back any intrusions into our city. My tech-priests are already at work awakening the main Hive defences, it will take some time but it will be done well before the Xenos arrive.” I nodded, exactly what I had had planned, but the administrators had outdone themselves with their preparedness. 

“Excellent work, let it be known that we are not unprepared!” I looked over at the last resource that I had not already assigned, though this resource was the most unlikely to yield much use. 

“Inquisitor.” I began, noticing the glint in her eyes even as she turned to me with a smile once more. 

“Have you any more information on our enemy that may be of use to us in planning our defence, any help at this point will save innumerable lives.” Her demeanour shifted slightly, her staring becoming piercing for a fraction of a second, before she lightened again and nodded.

“I will see what I can find out Governor, it is… refreshing to find a governor that is actually competent at what they are meant to do without complaint.” I smirk, obviously I have made a good impression on her, and I decided to try and improve that impression with my last words in the conversation.

“In the duty of the Emperor's service, there is no need for complaints. After all, the service is a reward unto itself is it not?” that grabbed her attention, it was a quote from some famous space marine chaplain during the first Armageddon war, she was obviously surprised that I knew it well enough to repeat it back word for word to her.

Her grin increased, but there was a wary glint in her eye as she stood, which made me more suspicious of her reasons for being here, especially as she still had to mention what that reason was. 

“Very well Governor, I leave you to you work, I imagine you have lots to prepare.” She strode to the doors and pushed one open, which surprised me, it usually took two men to open those doors with any amount of ease. 

As she did so, the tall figure of a Vindicare assassin appeared out of the shadows, pistols drawn and ready whilst the characteristic long rifle was on his back, easily in a position to be drawn if needed. The door closed once more and I waited for a moment before my Head of Security nodded, signalling that they were actually leaving, and with that confirmation I turned to Admiral Quarrus.

“Are the Mortis missiles ready?” Admiral Quarrus nodded, some of his confidence returning now that they were out of the threat of the Inquisitors presence. 

“They have been moved into place, but Aquila, this is a suicidal plan you have enacted, and I’m sure that the Inquisitor suspects something is amiss if you take her last words as they are.” I shrugged lightly as if disregarding the threat. 

“My duty is to the Emperor, and the people that I govern, and if I can save even a few of them from Voss’s madness at the cost of my life so be it. The Inquisitor can suspect all she wishes, but by the time she finds out, it will be far too late, I factored her arrival in well in advance.” I had known of the approach of an Inquisitor to my sector for months, the classified vessel moving ever closer to my area of space was a giant warning if nothing else, especially as all records of the ship disappeared within hours of the ship leaving a sector. 

It was easy to let her know of the safe parts of the plan whilst leaving out the rest. I gestured to the controlling tech priest, ignoring the confused looks from the others present. The visual of the system returned, and this time faint images of the Tyranid hive fleet appeared on the  edge of the system. 

The true scale of the threat became blatantly clear, the fleet moving slowly over the worlds of Scythia and Uqinox and engulfing even the space in between to take up almost 20% of the sector’s volume. Thankfully, on the other side of their twin suns, Merdythia remained unassailed.

“From the reports that we have received, the swarm will not greatly deviate from their path for a single world, it is more likely that they will send a small number of the smaller vessels to try and harvest our world before returning to the fleet. It is this tactic that I plan on taking advantage of. By focussing the fleet near Merdythia, I plan to annihilate these ships using our navy, which should cause the main fleet to return here.” A small portion of the swarm split off from the main swarm and headed round the sun to Merdythia, where they were suddenly removed by the arrival of Battlefleet Septimus. 

The main body of the swarm then paused part way out of the system, before turning and heading back towards Merdythia. Colonel Kergis coughed into his hand before asking the question that I knew was on the minds of pretty much everyone in the room.

“How does this help us Vice-Governor? As you've said the battle fleet will have no chance against the main swarm, surely we would do better just to weather their assault until they run out of forces with the splinter fleet.” I acknowledged that fact with a tight grin, it was an idea that I had considered first, but even if such delaying actions didn't cause the swarm to return then chances were most of the planet would be purged as cowards regardless.

“We did our duty to the Emperor, if this works it will slow the Xeno’s advance by almost a year. You can see the size of the swarm everyone, such a plan will give the rest of the Imperium precious time to organise a response capable of meeting such an overwhelming force head on. And besides…”

The battle fleet fled for the edge of the sector as the Tyranid fleet descended upon his home, the planet almost disappearing from view under the weight of ships descending into orbit. Then with a click of my fingers Merdythia was turned into a miniature sun, engulfing a portion of the Tyranid fleet and sending other sections of it reeling.

“I always wanted to end my career with a bang.” There was stunned silence for a moment before Colonel Kergis laid back in his chair, exhaling slowly in an obvious attempt to keep himself calm. 

“Well, I always knew you were mad, but this makes a surprising amount of sense. Asset denial, dealing as much damage to the enemy whilst preserving the Emperor’s vital space fleet, it’s almost a textbook Imperial response to a massive Ork Waagh. I assume that is what you meant by the Mortis missiles?” I nodded even as Adept Osthio spoke up, voice more certain now the Inquisitor was gone.

He was focussing on the numbers, as he always did in these situations. 

“What are the number and size of the warheads? Will help with damage calculations you see.” Adept Osthio was already typing away as the others recovered, there focus obviously on the intent behind my plan as much as the numbers on the surface. 

Administrator Kell spoke first out of the others, slowly and thoughtfully in an obvious use of his Noble upbringing and experience. 

“You know Vice-Governor, with what you plan, it could be considered treason against Governor Voss. I assume you plan on evacuating our men beforehand, which is why you would keep the fleet so close, otherwise we would remove them the moment the initial splinter was destroyed. Such an… Economical move would not go down well at all with the Governor.” Whatever others might say about Administrator Kell, he was definitely the most politically adept of my administrators, and that suaveness was something I could use.

“Which is why he must not know until it is too late, I will keep him distracted until it is impossible for him to act, don’t worry about that.” The assembled people nodded, though it was clear that each of them would be coming to me in the coming days to ask further about the plan and their parts in it.

“Now, I have told you all this because it is vital that we work together to ensure that we deliver the most effective blow to the Xenos scum, but no-one outside of those gathered here can know what it is we plan. Is that understood?” Colonel Kergis looked conflicted, as I had expected, but the others all nodded a moment later.

Given the amount of work ahead of us, as well as to give them all a chance to come to terms with what I had told them, I ended the meeting shortly afterwards. Despite the official difference in standing between those present and myself, I made sure to speak with each of them individually before they left and thank them for attending, such personal touches were essential in building the connections I would need for my plan. 

Admiral Quarrus was the last to leave, the man planning on using his fleet to relieve a similar plant in the Redemptus system and analyse the types of enemies we would be facing on the ground, leaving me alone in the ornate room. I waved out the serfs and techpriests, wishing for some short time to myself to reflect on the day, as well as what my next moves were going to be.

I wandered slowly over to the southern facing wall, which contained several large tinted glass windows, each depicting a different Imperial Saint that had something to do with the system. The centerpiece was, as always, the one to grab my attention and draw me into walking over to it. It depicted one of the heroic Adeptus Astartes, an Ultramarine in shining blue armour and bedecked in the Emperor's light, as it smote down one of the feral orks that had previously dominated the world and used the humans there as slaves or prey.

As I stood there looking up at it, light poured through the window, a gap in the usually cloudy Merdythian weather. I became awash with the various colours of the mural and a feeling of peace washing over me as it did so. It was a sign from the Emperor I am sure, reaching out to reassure me that my idea was not against his will or taking his name in vain. 

A moment later, a flicker of movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention and I spun round. My hand reached for the hilt of my sword, only to freeze when I found myself looking down the blade of a razor sharp sword, mere centimetres from my eye. Despite the fact that I could and probably should have drawn my own sword and knocked the blade away from its dangerous position, that wasn’t so much the reason for my inability to move as the identity of the person holding the blade. There was a frigid moment of silence before my attacker spoke, with a much harder and colder voice than I remembered.

“My mistress will be most… interested in your plotting behind her back. I did warn her of you Aquila. Your charm will be the death of you someday soon. In fact, that day may well be today, depending on what else you are hiding from us...”


	2. The Inquisitor's return

“Serah.” I whispered, unable to drag my eyes away from the sapphire blue eyes of the system’s most efficient and deadly assassin.

I remembered those vividly unique eyes for a number of reasons, not in the least because I had helped capture almost three years before, at the very real risk of my own life I might add. Forcing myself to concentrate as the memories of that night jumped to the forefront of my mind,  I continued to speak slowly, finally dragging my eyes away from her own. 

“It’s not my fault you know, you were the one that accepted the contract for my head. If it had been anyone else, you wouldn’t be standing here threatening me now would you? I gave you a much lighter sentence than your employers, which considering you cost me my hand is very generous, even considering our past.” I saw doubt and pain enter her eyes, as I reminded her of the act she had undertaken in this self-same room on that dark thundery night.

The loss of my right hand was a closely guarded secret, if you account for the fact that amongst the still living only I, Serah and two Black Templar Space Marines know about it. It was one of Astartes, a rather venerable techmarine, who crafted the bionic hand I have in place of my left hand now.

It was repayment for the recovery of several of their chapter relics I obtained from various pirates and smugglers in the system during my first year as Vice-Governor, including a full suit of Tactical dreadnought armour. How the smugglers managed to procure it or even more importantly, what they planned to do with it, I have no idea nor do I wish to know. A moment later, her face lightened slightly and she nodded her head in acceptance of my point.

“That is true, another time I owe you my life. Though, from what you are planning, it sounds like I won’t have time to repay your kindness.” She shifted the sword away, bringing it down to her side. She didn't sheathe it though I noticed with morbid amusement, meaning that I wasn't out of trouble just yet.

“I see this place hasn’t changed since I left, though I see you had the battle scars covered over, including your hand. I was surprised by that when I entered with the mistress, bionic I assume?” It was always unnerving for me to talk with Serah when she was ‘on duty’.

The switch between hardened killer and the woman I knew from my childhood days, whose life I had now saved four times, was so fast it wasn’t recognisable if you didn’t know about it. 

“Of course, I called in quite the favour to get it as well. And in regards to this place, why change what works? This is now the most efficient system outside of direct Ultramar space. No Adeptus Astartes to boss me around either, which is always nice.” I could see her trying to hide a smile at my over the top boasting, and I continued, happy to be around someone who wouldn’t judge me on what I said or did for the first time in almost 20 years. 

“Would you like some wine? Or are you desperate to go and report my deception to your new Mistress?” She laughed, the light tone completely unbecoming of her current dress, an armoured bodysuit covered in knives and explosives that I knew she could use expertly at a moment’s notice. And, despite myself, I found myself smiling back.

“Always the gentleman rogue Aquila. I must say, I missed that part of your character whilst I was imprisoned in those luxury cells, a cushy living arrangement you no doubt had a hand in me being sequestered in. Mistress Clythia is kind to me though, far more than anyone else, bar you of course, would be. She trusts me as well, removed the collar and everything after our first two assignments.”

Serah gestured idly to her neck, the lack of the usual death collar worn by convicts something I hadn’t noticed first time I looked her over. The same death collar that had been defunct from the start on my order, not that she would know that. At the mention of the Inquisition I couldn’t help the anger welling up inside of me, which was obviously plain to Serah as she placed a hand on my shoulder, gripping it gently.

“Do not judge her for Elihath’s mistakes Aquila, not all of them turn out like he does.” Images of flames, the screaming body of a woman, the grinning visage of a daemon, each of these flickered over my vision, and my fists tightened for a moment before relaxing into the knowledge that the man could only haunt me now, nothing more than that. 

I opened the bottle of wine on my desk, 50 year old wine from Kahtul VI, a prominent agri world with well-established black market links. For those of more refined tastes, and one of the few indulgences I allowed myself. Pouring myself a glass, I could feel rather than see Serah’s yearning for one of her own. I did not pour one, as I had always insisted on not giving in to her every silent desire, continuing to speak instead. 

“If the Inquisitor is not as bad as I think Serah, will she agree with my plans then? You yourself can probably see the merit in them, will she?”  Serah shrugged non committedly, obviously not wishing to provide an opinion that may be different from the Inquisitor’s lest it come back to bite her. 

“I have only been under her command for a few months; I cannot really say one way or the other. She does seem to be one of the more… open Inquisitors I have met , so she may well agree with the plans, after you are checked of course.” The last part had been thoughtlessly added onto the end by Serah, though my eyes narrowed at the specific wording of it. 

There was something missing from this situation, and I had always thought it was more than an Inquisitor just checking on the system's defences against an alien assault. Serah noticed my expression, and her eyes widened as she realised what she had said. Her sword was up once at my throat, pressing uncomfortably to the left of my voice box. I could feel it breaking the skin slightly as I asked the necessary question, with a level tone of one who knew he had discovered something, something that he would have been happy to leave buried for others to deal with.

“What haven’t I been told Serah? Two assassins and a real life Adeptus Astartes, they seem odd companions to such a… dainty Inquisitor. And I imagine there are more on that vessel of yours, ready to pounce when required.” A fear passed over her eyes as she shook her head, and I knew I had caught onto the real purpose to their being here.

“I cannot say. I am sorry Aquila, but Mistress is already going to punish me enough for my stupidity.” I winced slightly in sympathy at the idea of her punishment. 

The Inquisition was barely more than a myth to the majority of the Imperium’s citizens, the bogey men of the darkest under hives and mutant infested caverns.

I had been a member of one of the most brutal gangs in the hive in my youth before my interactions with Serah, and even I paled when I heard stories of those punished by the Inquisition. My own past with Inquisitor Eliliath did nothing to lighten my view on the mysterious order. It did not take more than a few moments of thought to work out the most likely reason to why the Inquisition were here, now of all times, the offhand comment from Derosa being the one that finally put it in perspective for him. 

“The stalking creatures Lieutenant Derosa mention, they are already amongst us; aren’t they? That’s why you’re here, to deal with those that make it to the upper hives, and for some reason you are concerned they can compromise us.” The sword trembled at my neck for a moment, and I thought Serah might actually thrust forward, her eyes glistening with sad tears that she barely held back with obvious effort.

“You know too much Aquila, I must call the Mistress back here now. The risk to the mission, it is too great to leave you unchecked.” I nodded distractedly, there was no way I would have been able to survive if I disagreed. 

I only came out relatively intact last time due to my bodyguards and Servitors, both of which were too far away to help me in time, due to our current standing I wouldn’t even reach my earpiece to activate them before she cut me down. More importantly, the idea of the creatures, amongst us, now, was mind blowing. 

What if one of those at the meeting had been compromised in the manner the Inquisitor was concerned about? Luckily, I had put a ruse within a ruse in that regard, but regardless, it could ruin the defensive plans for the system if the fleet changed tactics due to the information their spy could give them. 

“Would you like my sword?” I asked slowly as I collapsed into my desk chair, which was nearby, ensuring to keep my hands visible and state relaxed even as her sword followed, distance from my jugular not changing in the slightest, reinforcing my wish to not antagonise her any further. 

Serah shook her head, reaching for her earpiece with a tremble in her hand I wouldn't have believed her capable of if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes.. 

“Mistress?” There was a pause for a moment, then Serah spoke hurriedly.

“I have the Vice-Governor here in the conference room; there is much that he needs to inform you of, as you suspected he might. He… He also suspects the true reason of our presence here.” Another pause, this one longer, with Serah’s face paling as it continued.

“Apologies Mistress, he knew how to distract me and I said something without thinking, and he deduced it from there. When he asked, I couldn’t think… Yes, he is cooperating, he offered his weapons when this came up. 5 minutes? Yes Mistress. Please, forgive me for this Mistress. Yes Mistress, over and out.”  With that she released the ear piece, sliding into the chair opposite.

Her sword point never wavered, not even for a moment. I stayed sat upright, taking a drink and doing my best to swallow slowly, to avoid what would be a very lethal nick to the throat. Realising something, I spoke calmly in an attempt to both be persuasive and unthreatening. 

“If the Inquisitor is returning, it is probably a good idea for me to tell my guards to stand down before they try and stop her from entering; I need every man I can get for the invasion after all.” Her eyes were fixed on my own, and I could tell she was trying to detect whether there was any falsehood in them. She nodded finally but with a hint of desperation in her tone. 

“Please don’t do anything stupid Aquila, I would have to be… extreme in my response.” The blade tip tickled my throat, almost as a reminder, but I couldn’t resist. 

“Me stupid? When has that ever happened in our relationship?” The comment managed to get a badly concealed smile out of her even as I went for my own earpiece. 

“Guards, the Inquisitor will be returning shortly, allow her and any of her acolytes entrance, and respond to her commands as if they were my own. Be prepared to assist in securing the building if necessary against anyone, even the Governor should he decide to approach.” The voice of Stefan, my head bodyguard, was the first to reply.

Stefan knew the plan, all of it, and as such the worry was obvious in his voice. We had both grown up in the same area, he and most of my bodyguards were from the same gang I had been in until I was 17. And given the requirements for muscle I had when I was rising through the ranks, they had proved adequate to the task and I had rewarded them by bringing them to the main Hive with me,  loyal to each other above all else even after our move to the more ‘legal’ side of Hive life.

“But, boss, what if she…” I cut him off, glad of the man’s loyalty if nothing else, but it was really not the time. 

“If the Inquisitor wanted me dead Stefan, I would be with or without your protection. She got two assassins into the meeting without us noticing, and we don’t have much to hand that’s good against the Emperor’s Chosen do we? Stand down, and hope the Emperor is smiling on us.” I could see Stefan nodding in my mind’s eye, no doubt having noticed the obvious discrepancy I had thrown in there, to make it obvious why this was necessary. 

“So there’s one in there with you now?  Well, all I can do is wish you luck boss, the Emperor protects!” I removed my hand from my earpiece, nodding at the sword in Serah’s hand that was still at my throat, and put on my best resigned tone.

“It is done, and is that really necessary? It’s hard to drink to my imminent death with it stuck to my throat.” Serah shook her head furiously, a strange cross between her two personas as she replied coldly but desperately, a slight gleam on her skin due to the sweat slowly building on her brow.

“I’m afraid not. I cannot be lenient, Mistress will be angry enough as it is.” After this, an awkward silence fell, the minutes ticking slowly by.

Then suddenly the doors crashed open with such force that I thought for a moment they might come off their hinges as the Astartes came storming in, flamer at the ready. His eyes scoured the room, with the poise of a veteran of many dozens of battles, though his focus was everywhere but where we were currently sitting. 

Behind him stalked the Inquisitor, a small smirk appearing on her face as she spotted the two of us sat as we were. Me, glass in hand and drinking awkwardly whilst Serah had remained immobile, sword ready to strike me down in a moment if I so much as breathed wrong. As the Vindicare jogged in, the doors slammed shut, as if pulled or pushed by an invisible force. The Inquisitor spoke, the smirk gone and her face piercing as she gazed at Aquila. 

“I’m glad to see that you at least have him guarded Serah, you can let him go now.” Serah removed her sword from my throat, standing as she did so. 

The blade was back in it sheath so quickly I think I missed the movement by blinking, Serah moving hastily to kneel at the Inquisitor’s feet, head bowed and posture deferential. 

“I am so sorry Mistress, please forgive me for my mistakes.” The Inquisitor looked down, her face fixed in an angry frown that looked out of place on her, and stared at Serah for several moments. 

Suddenly Serah spasmed in obvious pain, a small cry exiting her lips, causing me to tighten my hand on the goblet until it was white. My actions were obviously a point that did not go unnoticed by the Inquisitor, as her eyes darted back to meet mine, whilst Serah continued to moan in pain. 

“You are lucky that your past history means the Vice governor will be more cooperative if you are conscious and i cause you no more harm to you for your errors. You could have doomed us all with you thoughtlessness.” The Inquisitor looked away, towards the Astartes as Serah collapsed, breathing raggedly in relief. 

I froze as Inquisitor then strode up to me, my few encounters with psykers were not enjoyable ones, even beyond the general Imperial Rhetoric of ‘suffer not the psyker to live’. I had to resist raising my mental shields as high as I possibly could, choosing to let her in, any attempt to resist at this point may well get me killed. She reached me, reaching down with a manicured finger to my chin, gently bringing my face up to look into her own once more. 

“Are you scared of me now Governor? I promise if you are truthful, I won’t hurt you any more than is necessary. If you lie, well, it won’t be only you that suffers today.” Like a switch, the woman in front of me had transformed from the dainty and frail data gatherer she had seemed to be originally, to the beautiful and deadly seductress. 

“Now, look into my eyes and try to relax, I will be gentle.” My eyes locked with hers without a thought, and I mentally cursed the hold this woman had over me, even as I felt the first probe into my mind.

She was surprisingly gentle, and if I hadn’t experienced such mind probes before I would have not have noticed her presence. After almost a minute of trying not to blink, she broke the contact, a relieved smile on her face. 

“Very good Governor, I thank you for your cooperation.” She leaned forward, giving me a ghost of a kiss to my cheek, before turning to the others. 

“He is clean; thank the Emperor. Though, he seems highly receptive to my advances, surprising really considering his position.” As out of it as I was, given the minor mind pillaging that had just occurred, I noticed a smile of obvious relief on Serah’s face at the Inquisitor’s announcement. It was ruthlessly crushed  into the hard and unforgiving stare of her ‘on duty’ mask a moment later, but the concern was touching. 

A sudden weight on my legs brought me back to the real world, as I was shocked to find the Inquisitor sat on my lap, and I imagine I was the only one shocked by the forwardness.

“Now I know you are not compromised, perhaps you want to tell me of how you’ve been a bad boy? Either that, or I force Serah to tell me, and doing so would make me angry. And you wouldn’t want that, would you?” The last part was punctuated by her drawing her fingernail down my cheek and across my jawline. It was a measured psychological attack, making me struggle hard to resist shivering at the touch as well as at the obvious threat against Serah.

It took me a moment as I measured my response, but I noticed that she was still inside my head, lurking, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. Not fast enough however, as I raised my shields around the probe, enjoying the small look of shock on her face as I did so.

“Now you have finished your manipulations of me, you can remove your probe before I get angry myself.” For a moment, the Inquisitor was defiant, the probe ramming into my shields with the force of an adamantium ram, both of us wincing in pain at the stress this cause. She backed off a moment later, nodding quietly.

“Very well, I will do so, as long as you tell me everything once I do. Serah will inform me if you do not, understand?” It was at that point I noticed the Vindicare’s pistols aimed at my head from where he was stood, not trusting me even if his mistress had said to do so for the moment. 

Knowing that I had no choice now, I relaxed my shields once more, allowing her to withdraw, hands going up to catch her body as she slumped for a moment. She got off me, though not too quickly. Almost lingering longer than was necessary, which was interesting as the idea behind her staying there was now pointless. I leaned back, reaching for my glass once more and taking a swig, nodding at the assassin in my best attempt at good natured bravado. 

“You might as well keep that pointed at me, will make killing me easier if your Mistress doesn’t like what I have to say. The plan is as thus, or at least, that’s what everyone thinks…” 


	3. Memories, and the Terror unveiled

An hour later, I drew to a close, having revealed plot within ruse within schem. It was a set of manipulations so complex and subtle that the Vindicare had evidently lost place a while ago, and even Serah could be seen to be struggling, despite the fact that much of the initial groundwork occurred before we separated. 

The Astartes hadn’t reacted at all, helmet revealing nothing as to the workings of the man's mind, as was typical of the Emperor’s descendants. The most interesting reaction was that of the Inquisitor, who had sat forward in her seat, grinning brilliantly as she took in every last detail of my plan. 

“Brilliant! I must say, the level of detail, the subtle magnificence of it all. You planned for pretty much every possibility. This must have taken years, before the swarm even appeared in colonised space… how did you know what to expect?” I shook my head even as I smiled, it was nice to have someone appreciate my planning skills if nothing else.

“That’s the brilliance of it Inquisitor, I didn’t expect anything specific. I knew that with our orbital repair stations, in the case of any major enemy incursion from the eldar, the orks, and even this new threat, the sector fleet would congregate here to repair and re-equip. I made friends with both Admiral Quarrus and his predecessor, allowing them easier access to things, faster repair times and so on.“ It was easy enough to achieve, one of the first things I did when I became Vice-Governor a decade ago was allocate resources to repair and retrofit our repair stations, and whilst it had initially slowed things down, the dockyards were now recognised as some of the best in the Sector. 

“The Administrators and Nobles are pretty much all behind me, Governor Voss is known for his disdain for the noble elite after all, which is ironic given his own Noble upbringing. Governor Voss stays in power due to his grip on the Ecclesiarchy, both here and elsewhere in the sector. He spends so much time concentrating on his image of piety that he hasn’t noticed I’ve stocked every surplus weapon and piece of tech from the start of my time in power, just in case the worst did come to pass.” Most would have used them to curry favour or for profit, but such underhanded deals usually ended up attracting Central Imperial attention sooner or later, and I quite enjoyed the relatively quiet position of power I had controlled up until now. 

Such actions could also be taken the wrong way of course, something that I knew very well from my dealings with Elihath, whose paranoia in his last few years had bordered on maniacal. I sat up in my seat from where I had slouched slightly whilst telling my scheme, looking into the Inquisitor's eyes whilst lowering my shields.

“Look Inquisitor, I wish you to know that I tell the truth and I know from experience that you Inquisition types don’t take someone at their word. I had no other ideas for the build-up, as tempting as it was to go deal with some of the more troublesome pirates at times.”  I could tell my offer impressed her by the slight widening of her eyes, though she controlled any other physical reaction remarkably well. 

After all, I had shown great dislike for her techniques, both used on me and otherwise. The idea of her back inside my head still angered me, but I knew it would be necessary to prove my loyalty to the Imperium rather than myself. She nodded her head in understanding and moved round the table once more, obviously her psyker mind reading powers were not useful at anything more than a couple of feet, which explains why she had sat in my lap before perhaps. 

This time though, the Astartes pulled up a pair of the chairs from the war table, which given they were made of durasteel and were easily twice my weight was an impressive feat when done with a single hand. Moving to sit across from my newest ‘ally’, I sat forward and looked her in the eyes, doing my best not to start muttering some of Purity prayers that were branded into my mind from a young age.

I felt her enter my thoughts far more respectfully this time, and I did my best to show her the same respect, we were now in this together after all. Opening my thoughts to her entirely, I allowed her to wander at will through them and peruse at her leisure. I have no idea how long she looked, dragging me through memory after memory ranging from the last few weeks to some of my oldest memories in the underhive. It was as she delved into the darkest recesses of my past that she stumbled across the memory that I had long suppressed, flickers of it during my most restless nights being the only thing that reminded me of that day.

*Flashback*

_ It was dark, rain pattering lightly from the hive above and the smoke clouds covering the light from Merdythia’s twin moons. The rain was not the dangerous type, which could turn a man to a bubbling corpse in less than five minutes and forced people to remain indoors, but that didn’t mean it was particularly pleasant.  It made everything stink of rotten eggs, and though that wasn’t the most unpleasant smell someone could come across in the Underhive, it was definitely in the top 50. _

_ I couldn’t focus on the rain though as I ran, hot on the tail of my partner, whose speed and agility was always something I had envied since we had met the year before. Ducking into one of the smaller alleyways we hid behind some of the rubbish and salvage placed there, seeing the guards of House Thalak run past, weapons out and ready.  _

_ I grinned, looking down at the data slates that they had been asked by their new employer to retrieve. The hooded man had given them 300 thrones as a down payment for the work, more money than I had ever had at any one time in his life. Looking across at my accomplice I grinned cheekily, whispering to avoid risking the attention of the guards that were no doubt sweeping the area.  _

_ “I told you it would work.” A much younger Serah scowled back at him, her face scar free and remarkably beautiful for a under hiver, though I had seen first hand what happened to those that underestimated her for her beauty.  _

_ “Just because you can charm yourself into any woman’s pants doesn’t mean I have to like you doing it Aquila, it’s disrespectful to women everywhere. Now, let’s get to the meeting point before we are late.” Aquila’s face fell at that, he hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings.  _

_ Serah knew that I only did what he did so we could eat… or I hoped she did. I wouldn’t deny that he enjoyed the thrills that came with such seduction tasks, and I liked to think that the women in question enjoyed themselves as well. But the pleasures of the flesh meant little to me in comparison to a warm bed and a hot meal.  _

_ We travelled to the meeting point in an uncomfortable silence, and by the time we arrived I was cursing himself mentally. My supposedly ‘hawk-like’ mind had only just cottoned on to the reason as to why Serah was so angry, and by now it was far too late to try and repair the damage immediately. _

_ As good as I was to talking willing women into bed, the question of how to deal with an angry woman who knew of my un-chivalrous habits was something that for which, I still had no answer. Thankfully, I was saved from the awkward moment of trying to speak to her again and making a fool of myself, by their descent into the ruined building that was their meeting point.  _

_ It was considered dangerous by the locals, due to the poor construction of the building and the risk of it collapsing, which meant we were unlikely to be disturbed accidentally. I knew even as I entered the building that our employer was already there, nobody in the underhive could afford to smell so heavily of incense after all. It took less than a minute of scanning the decrepit interior of the warehouse to spot him, it wasn’t like he was trying particularly hard to be subtle after all. _

_ Our employer was a man in his mid-forties, who walked with an air of authority we recognised as similar to the manner the nobles around with most of the time, but he held none of their arrogance or pride. Instead he seemed to exude knowledge and caution, the wrinkles and lines on his face betraying the worry of a man much older than he actually was, something that wasn’t helped by the ornate and well crafted armour the man wore _

_ “You have the data slates from the safe room?” Abrupt and to the point, which was the way many of our clients were, so I merely nodded and stepped forward with the bag. _

_ “We do, and we made sure that we weren’t followed anywhere near here as you asked. The slates seem to be in some sort of a code though, so I don’t know what use they will be to you Sir.” The man merely gave a tight smile at my mention of the slates being encrypted, of course I had tried to have a look before arriving here, didn’t want to risk doing something heretical if I could avoid it after all. _

_ The man stepped forward and gestured impatiently with his hand, obviously expecting me to just hand over the data slates like a good little underhiver. I had done this kind of deal before though, and so I grabbed my laspistol from the holster at my waist and made it clear I was ready to draw it as I spoke once more. _

_ “No offence Sir, but I want to see our money before we hand them over to you. Not that I don’t trust you Sir, just a habit I picked up.” A dark keening cry  from above cut into what had been a quite civil negotiation, and all three of us jumped back. _

_ Given the reaction of our employer it was obviously nothing to do with him, the man reaching for a weapon at his waist, as I looked up to see the thing of nightmares made manifest.  _

_ It was hanging from one of the support beams like a demented gargoyle, dressed in heavy armour covered in strange sigils that made my eyes hurt to look at them. There was a dark liquid dripping from the long blade that seemed to morph directly from the thing’s left hand, and the thing’s right hand was grossly misshapen into the shape of what looked like a claw or a talon. I wasn’t sure how the thing had gotten above us so quietly, but I drew my laspistol from it holster as it started to speak, it’s voice like the grating of durasteel on ceramite. _

_ “Such prudence will not be necessary boy thief. For you all die here, especially you Inquisitor!” Then the darkened visage descended from rafters upon daemonic wings that sprung from it’s back, laughing off the impacts of my lasfire as it did so. _

_ Serah screamed, I screamed, there was so much screaming… _

_ *Flashback end* _

I shot up in my seat, and would have headbutted the Inquisitor in the face had she also not recoiled violently from the memory, the Inquisitor having leant in as she delved into my memories. She was sweating slightly as well, though she seemed to recover better than I had, unleashing a torrent of questions.

“Aquila, what was that thing? How did you survive? Who was that man?” I shook my head to gather my thoughts, displeased that I was now coated in sweat, which ran down my face from the mental exertions. 

“That thing is a foul assassin of the ruinous powers, whose name I dare not utter outside of a sanctioned chapel room, lest it’s mention gather its attention and bring its gaze back here. The man who had hired me and Serah I later discovered to be Inquisitor Elihath of the Ordo Hereticus. He was powerful and influential, after all he is the reason that I am where I am now. He is also why I have a rather large distaste for those who hold your position, no offence Inquisitor.” She looked round slightly nervously before motioning imperiously at the assassin, who once more had his pistol out and raised given our rather violent separation. 

“None taken Aquila, though what do you mean he is the reason that you are now in your position as Vice-Governor? Inquisitor’s are not meant to influence things on a local political level unless there is a pressing reason or if they need to remove an individual or group suspected of heresy.” Huh, good to know that little titbit of information, would have been useful about thirty years ago but better late than never.

“He survived the attack and managed to banish the thing back into the warp, at the cost of most of his acolytes that he had had based nearby and one of his arms. He then offered Serah and I wealth and power if we continued to work for him and provide him information. I accepted... and Serah refused, and much to my regret that is where our current estrangement began. Elihath erased the memory of the night from her mind, thoroughly too if even you could not find it, I imagine you scanned her thoroughly before taking her onboard?” The Inquisitor nodded carelessly as if such a question was pointless, and I suppose for someone with her powers it probably seemed exactly that.

“After that, I began working for him in secret. It was small things at first, starting a group of informants and spies on Merdythia, or procuring an artefact or relic from the Underhive blackmarket. Then, if things needed stealing or obtaining from some of the more difficult locations on the Hive, Serah and I would do it in person. I claimed that I had received the job through my contacts, and though she was suspicious, the money rolling in kept her content for a while.” The way I claimed to have obtained the jobs was somewhat true I supposed, even though I had hated lying to the girl who had become my close partner in crime. 

I had tried to persuade Elihath several times to allow Serah and I to go our own way now that I had set up the network for the man, but the Inquisitor had very forcefully reminded me of what I had signed up to. During the four hour psychic torture session Elihath personally inflicted upon me, he was quick to ensure that I knew my place going forward. 

It had taken almost a month for me to completely recover from my ordeal, and with the threat of Elihath doing the same to Serah if I tried to back out again, I was very keen to stay on the man’s good side from there on in. 

“With the man’s resources and ability to make my opponent’s dark secrets appear at the best possible moment, it was no surprise that I quickly shot up the ranks. Of course, my rise meant leaving a lot of my past behind me, either out of prudence or because they couldn’t deal with me lying with them anymore...” Serah’s furious and tear stained face as she stormed from my junior administrator’s office, after confronting me about the dark dreams she had been having as well as the fact I was hiding things from her, came to the forefront of my mind. 

Deciding there had been enough of an Inquisition into my past for the moment, I decided to try and bring the topic back to the massive Xenos fleet that was bearing down upon us, as well as trying to find out what terrifying secrets were involving the Inquisition of all things. 

“But if you are satisfied for the moment with my loyalty Inquisitor, then perhaps we should return to the matter at hand?” It took a moment, but the Inquisitor nodded and stood once more, her face far more serious than it had been during her ‘seductress’ routine. 

“Yes, I suppose it is. Agent Tarkan, set up the data on the screen, then we can brief the Governor. Acolyte Serah!” The woman’s imperious calling of her name and title had Serah bowing in front of her again in an instant, the stiffness of her form an obvious sign that Serah was expecting further punishment. 

Instead the Inquisitor glanced over me before speaking once more, a small smirk on her face as she did so.

“As of right now, you are seconded to protecting the Vice-Governor's life above all else, including protecting me or your own life.” Serah’s eyes shot up in shock and she wasn’t the only one, though to be fair I think everyone in the room was wondering why a Inquisitor would issue such a weird command. 

But after a moment of silence, it became clear that the Inquisitor was not going to extrapolate any further on the inner workings of her mind, so Serah nodded a little uncertainly.

“As you command Mistress. Shall I shadow him constantly then? Or just when we are not required by a mission?” Obviously not the question that Serah had wanted to ask, but it was a pertinent one nevertheless, the Inquisitor chuckling to herself for a moment before answering.

“Good, you are learning. I wish for you to remain with him at all times Acolyte Serah, you will be our contact for him until we finish the mission. You are also not to let the past affect your work, understood?” Which type of history she was talking about I wasn’t sure, but the Vindicare Tarkan spoke for the first time since I had ‘met’ him, so I didn’t get the chance to ask. 

“It is set up Mistress, I will sweep the room to make sure there are no listening devices that we might have missed on the first check.” The Vindicare assassin rushed off to the side of the room, checking the walls and floors with practiced ease even as Brother Ios looked around before shaking his head. 

“No life forms detected within 50 feet of this room Inquisitor. The menace has either not infiltrated the upper layers of the Hive, or they are deliberately keeping their distance like the cowards all Xenos are.” With a nod from the Vindicare a minute later, that there were no electronic bugs to be concerned with, the Inquisitor walked up to the holo projector and typed away for a moment. 

The image on the screen shifted sharply to what was obviously an Imperial guard helmet feed, the grainy image showing a date stamp from almost two years ago

“I would prepare yourself Governor, what you will see next is not for the faint hearted.” At the Inquisitor’s words the video began to play and I very quickly got the idea that the feed was of the storming of a cultist stronghold. 

As the Guardsmen forced their way through the outer gates of the compound, something caught my eye along the top of the feed, a shape moving in the shadows above the gatehouse as the Guardsmen started to move into the compound.  A moment later the shape jumped down amongst the second squad of Guardsmen to enter the gate, and I felt the cold chill of fear down my spine. 

The monstrous creature tore twelve humans apart in as many seconds, screeching as concentrated fire from the remaining Guardsmen tore and burnt the flesh from its bones, managing to cross almost half the distance between it and the nearest squad before it was brought down by the weight of fire. Just as I thought that might be the worst of it over with, there was the sounds of screaming from off camera, the image swivelling to where the Guardsmen had been set up for the attack, a dozen more of the creatures tearing into the heavy weapons squads with impunity.

Whatever these things were, they were vicious, stealthy, intelligent enough to plan a diversion as well as an ambush. But above all, I thought as one of the six armed creatures leapt at the camera before it cut off into static, if these are the kind of creatures that are infiltrating the path of this hive fleet… 

How powerful were the creatures coming in the main body of the attack?


	4. My home is my castle

“The Ordos Xenos have classified this particular Tyranid subspecies as Genestealers, a crude and rather literal name, but one that fits this monstrosity well.” The Inquisitor spoke with the cold edge of hatred in her voice, even as the holo vid cycled through two more incidents of these Xenos attacks, including one of what seemed to be an Astartes’ helmet feed. 

The superhuman warrior was doing better than an entire Platoon of Guardsmen, gunning down two of these genestealers and taking a third down with his chainsword. The image then froze on the last genestealer, even as it’s claws slammed into the Space Marine’s armour.

“They are faster, stronger and more cunning than most normal humans. Even Space Marines struggle to fight them more than one on one without open ground or relic weapons as you can see here. Despite their impressive combat capabilities, the real reason that my party is here is because these creatures are capable of something far worse than merely killing those before them...” That sounded ominous I thought, Tarkan typing away at the screen for a moment before several pictures of human abominations appeared, each slowly looking more and more like a cross between a human and one of the Xenos I had just seen.

“They are capable of infecting humans with some kind of neural parasite, turning the Emperor’s servants into their own slaves. These infected are capable of acting almost entirely naturally as far as we can tell, though as the infection spreads both throughout the populace and through their infected offspring, you can see that their heresy is much harder to hide. So they will tend to form cults or isolated organisations within society, pulling in men of power and influence by pretending a zealous religious code or Emperor’s word is driving the sect’s plans.” And once those men of power joined, they no doubt quickly infected as well, I thought dryly.

Cults and Sects were not news to me, every spire had groups worshipping the Emperor in a hundred different ways. Whilst following the official Ecclesiarchy dogma, to try and root out these groups just for a minor difference in their worship, was something only the truly fanatical were prepared to carry out the Sects still need to be monitored carefully.  

That some of these groups were covers for heretical purposes was more commonplace that I would like, my agents and those of the other groups were lucky if only three or four of these insidious groups were discovered and unmasked a year. 

“So you think there are at least one group of these genestealers here and they will be trying to infiltrate our command structure before this hive fleet arrives?” I was already reviewing all the information I had on cults in the Hive itself, if these things could infect those that joined it was the ones that my agents said were no threat whatsoever that I was most interested in. 

That was something for us to look into in the coming days however, the first thing to be checked were my personal guard, as they knew the whole plan they were the biggest risk by far in terms of an information leak right now. Then there were those that had been at the meeting, particularly Lord Davies and the Imperial Guard officers that I did not know well, those would be the ones I would be unable to detect a change in habits in. 

The Inquisitor had nodded approvingly and gestured for me to continue with my thoughts, thankfully she seemed prepared to let me ruminate over what she had just told me and provide my expert view on the planet. A thought struck me as I looked at the images once more and a question came to my mind.

“You said that these crossbreeds were the result of offspring by the infected. Do they become more human with each level of breeding or more alien? Because if it is they become more human then we will need to be looking back decades if not centuries regarding your cult theory.” It was at this point the Inquisitor looked a little unsure for the first time, before Brother Ios spoke up.

“We do not know enough to be able to say one way or another, in many cases the Imperial forces on these worlds thought them to be simple heretics until it was far too late. By the time Inquisitorial or Space Marine forces arrived, it was a fight to simply retreat off planet after landing and finding the infection had fully taken over. My chapter the Dragon Guardians were the first to encounter the Xenos fleet and survive to report back, even we were unable to do anything but deal with the first scout groups. My Chapter is currently refitting before we enter the glorious conflict to eradicate the Xenos once more, but I will contact my Company Commander to see if they have any evidence to point us one way or the other.” So no information one way or another, disappointing but almost expected.

“Well in which case, let us deal with the most pertinent targets right now. These are my personal guard and Admiral Quarrus, as they know the most about the plan in it’s entirety, at least then we will have a core group of people we can trust. Is that acceptable for now Inquisitor?” After a moment’s pause the Inquisitor nodded. 

“It will do as a start but I think we will need to progress quickly from there. I will have the rest of my acolytes move our transport ship to your personal hangar here, so that we can fortify this place fully and prevent any potential Xenos infiltration.” It wasn’t a request, but it wasn’t like I was going to say no to having more uninfected people around, I was going to struggle trusting anyone for the foreseeable future as things stood. 

“Agent Tarkan, I want the schematics of this place checked and sensors put at every vent, water pipe and sewage tunnel leading into or out of this building. Ios, contact your brothers, I will need more than just a single space marine if there is a Genestealer infestation here.” The two men nodded and quickly moved off towards the door whilst Serah activated her communicator, obviously to contact their ship with the new instructions. 

Feeling a lot more at ease now that I didn’t have various weapons being levelled at me, I felt the need to try and act a little more normally even if I didn’t exactly feel it.

“So Inquisitor, shall I show you round the building? I think that you will be impressed with the set up here, and it would allow you to work out which rooms are most suitable for your divine work in ensuring our preparations against the oncoming fleet are up to the Emperor’s standards.” She twitched an eyebrow in my direction but otherwise didn’t rise to the bait, merely nodding sharply and waving me towards the door.

Serah fell in behind us without a word, exactly four paces behind and slightly to my right. The side she was guarding was different, probably due to the loss of my hand making her think it was now my weaker side, but otherwise it felt like we were back in our roguish days. It was a nice reminder of a simpler time, when concerns were with gangers and hunger, rather than Xenos and heresy.

*Line Break*

I prided myself on efficiency, after all I had managed to streamline Merdythia’s administration systems to the point that some Astartes’ commanders were jealous, but the way in which the Inquisitor’s retinue had managed to takeover and lockdown my base of power was nothing short of awe-inspiring. 

In part, that awe was due to the fact that the entire operation was done silently, four acolytes sweeping each room whilst others brought in equipment or began laying purity seals and scanning equipment, but otherwise the sheer level of coordination as the Acolytes moved around each other without even looking at each other was inspiring to watch.

IT had still taken a couple of hours to complete everything, but the volume of equipment was the limiting factor given the acolytes wouldn’t let anyone else so much as touch it. Twelve acolytes of all shapes and sizes were now in one of the largest conference rooms of the Administration building I called HQ, setting up various pieces of tech that they had unloaded from their large, black and well armed Thunderhawk gunship. From what I understood, this wasn’t even anything remotely close to their actual armoury, the Inquisitor’s personal cruiser in hidden orbit around Merdythia’s moon something she discussed with an ease that showed she didn’t understand how rare such ownership was.

Whilst the acolytes were doing glorified stock inventory and management, the Inquisitor revealed to me that she had brought 4 other psykers with her to assist in the screening process. It was a dangerous number in my mind, but that was as much my distaste of the psychic arts and the risks associated with them as much as anything else. These psykers had checked my guards one at a time and had already proved their worth, outing one of my junior guards as a heretic, the man summarily executed before he probably even realised he had been discovered. 

Such a brutal execution was not particularly helpful in keeping the rest of my guards calm through the screening process, but I personally had no issue with removing such traitorous filth from existence. Allowing such heresy to exist for even a moment was the first steps towards heresy yourself after all.

Thankfully none of my other men seemed to be risks, and the psyker had extracted the names and ranks of several other members from the man’s mind. These cultists had been highlighted to be dealt with at the first opportunity, whilst the psyker’s proclaimed my other guards to be clean enough, meaning that I could breathe a little easier and also bring more manpower to our cause. That did leave me with the delightful task of explaining why they had just seen one of their friends and comrades shot however,  as well as working out how best to relay the information the Inquisitor had revealed to me. 

Whilst I didn’t reveal the true depth of the danger at hand, I decided over the course of my speech to play a card from the Governor’s rulebook. Governor Voss’ personal estate was known to be three times the size of largest Noble house’s main holding, and he kept a small army of guards, servants and their families up there so that there was less risk of outside infiltration or interruption. With this in mind I had asked the Inquisitor to sweep the entire building rather than just the top three floors that acted as my main residence. On the lower levels there were communal and guest quarters for visiting dignitaries, which could easily be converted to accommodate my guards and their families.

Then I could lock the building down to normal human traffic, whilst the families would not appreciate the restriction at first, once they were screened it would make a lot more sense and I doubted I would get any trouble. The Inquisitor disagreed at first, no doubt wanting to focus on the nobles and other powerful individuals who might be infected.

But we needed a powerbase we could trust to strike from, and even with her Cruiser and potential back up from the Astartes, she did not have enough people right now for us to secure a base and carry out operations. This argument carried on for a few minutes under the guise of a pleasant discussion, before one of her psyker’s handed her the Tarot card he had just drawing as part of his reading, and that seemed to make her much more amenable. 

Luckily, she seemed to trust me, for the moment at least. When the shit truly hit the fan that would change no doubt, but we would deal with that particular Ork in the corner of the room when we got to it.

For now, I just had to hope that we weren’t already too late...


	5. The first moves on the board

“Purge the heretic!” Brother Ios’ cry preempted another shot of his flamer into the warehouse, that the Inquisition psykers had ascertained as a meeting point from the heretic guard’s head before he was executed, over a hundred cultists being caught inside when the Inquisitor signalled the ambush to begin. 

Brother Ios was being backed up by four Imperial Guardsmen, who were a part of my personal guard, whilst two of the Inquisition psykers were there in case of daemonic intervention. From the feed though, it was clear that the Astartes wouldn’t need any help with such a small force opposing him, Brother Ios swatting a knife wielding cultist aside with a dismissive wave of his hand. Instead my men were there more to coordinate with the local Arbites group to prevent a crowd gathering, moving people on as the chanting Astartes continued his bloody work, with the muzzle of a gun if necessary.

“So that little cult will be crippled for some time, assuming we were unlucky and not all of the members had gathered there by the time Brother Ios started. He is good at what he does but taking prisoners for interrogation is an area in which he is...lacking.” The Inquisitor and I were watching this back at my headquarters, through the eyes of one of her servo skulls, as we had far more to co-ordinate than one simple strike mission.

“Aye, but he is thorough and that is as important in this case. The cult would need to start entirely afresh now, and that kind of reorganisation leaves them open to infiltration by my agents. Perhaps they might even lead us to further traitors in time.” As cunning as the followers of Chaos often were, mere cultists were only human, and humans made more than enough mistakes for me to capitalise upon.

That, and having an Astartes burn down a warehouse full of heretics in full public view served two very important, but very different purposes. Firstly, it put the fear of the Emperor into the heart of the Hive’s populace, the warehouse and it’s inhabitants were mostly from the Upper levels of the Hive after all. Once the story got through the rumour mill every single member of the Hive would either be heading to pray or to hide, both of which would be interesting to follow. 

“This is Investigator Arcturus reporting in Inquisitor.” As the second strike team leader reported in, over the encrypted comms array that the Inquisitor’s acolytes had set up, I was reminded of the other reason this mass exercise was a good plan. 

An Inquisitor arriving on Merdythia with an honest to the Emperor Cruiser as her form of transport wasn't a subtle move in any playbook, and an Inquisitor that moved in the shadows and seemed to be  _ hunting _ for something even less so. An impatient Inquisitor, that acted quickly and publicly to take out heretics and sympathisers, was one that the other powerful individuals in the Hive would think they could predict and control. That was the image  the Inquisitor and I wanted to give, at least to those that we wouldn't need to bring into our inner circle anyway.

The vid-screen showed the Inquisitor’s Arbites investigator with at least half a dozen of our Arbites stood behind and around him, and a quick glance allowed me to guess that these were some of the Upper Hive Arbites, most of whom were either in the pay of the Noble houses or the Governor himself. Despite being outnumbered, Investigator Arcturus didn't look particularly perturbed, even with the number of guns being pointed in his direction.

“Inquisitor, I only made it partway through the target warehouse when these… Well I suppose they would call themselves Arbites, tried to stop me. Anyway, they seemed to think that I am not permitted to go looking for heretical activity where ever I think is best, and given your instructions I thought it best to check in before I dealt with these idiots.” I honestly thought that the Inquisitor had been a little mad when she had chosen someone other than Brother Ios for this particular role, Space Marines had a special way of dealing with the corruption and bureaucracy of the Noble houses after all, but this Investigator was doing very well if he had been blocked so quickly.

At 5 foot 8 Investigator Arcturus was not a tall man, but he was broad for his size, and he had a gruff and mature demeanour that was in stark contrast to his very young age. At 20, Investigator Arcturus could only have been an Arbites for 2 years by the time the Inquisitor picked him up, but he carried scars proudly that would make veteran ganger’s jealous.  A couple of the Arbites were looking a little nervous at the mention of an Inquisitor, but it was obvious at least half of them thought Investigator Arcturus was bluffing, something the Inquisitor no doubt noticed as she took a deep breath before speaking.

“Very well Investigator. Arbites, this is Inquisitor Rose or the Ordos Hereticus, you have 10 seconds before I tell the good Investigator to consider you compliant in heretical activities.” Such brashness was not Inquisitor Rose’s usual style, I could tell by the way her voice sounded a bit forced when she gave such a direct threat.

“As if you are an actual Inquisitor, you don’t think people have tried this before? We would have heard from someone if there was an actual Inquisitor on planet.” Inquisitor Rose looked at me and I shrugged, the Arbites had a point, it wouldn’t be the first time we had a group claiming to be part of the Inquisition tried to make a quick credit or two.

“This is Vice-Governor Aquila Sergeant, consider this you being told that there is an Inquisitor planetside, you are to consider the Investigator one of your own for the duration of his investigation.” It had been tempting not to say anything, just so I could see why the Inquisitor was so confident in her Investigator’s abilities, but ending the situation without bloodshed was the best solution for everyone there.

“V-Vice-Governor, you should have informed us if you were planning such an investigation. Lord Teves will be speaking to the Governor about this.” The Sergeant was clearly in the pockets of said Noble to be back talking both myself and an Inquisitor, but judging by the body language of the other Arbites he was going to be the only one to cause anymore trouble.

“Ten!” The exclamation from Investigator Arcturus was barely a fraction of a second before the he burst into movement, knocking the Arbites Sergeant’s shotgun out of his hands in a clearly practiced move. 

The Sergeant began to react, bringing his arms up to where he kept his Auto-pistol, but Arcturus didn’t give him the respite needed to draw it. A roundhouse kick to the side of the knee elicited a crack that I knew from experience meant an either cracked or broken bone, whilst Arcturus brought both hands up to slam palm first into either side of the Arbites’ skull. It wasn’t exactly a clean method of combat, but as the Arbites Sergeant fell to the ground like a crying bag of potatoes I couldn’t deny it was certainly effective. 

The other Arbites had raised their weapons, but luckily for them they seemed to work out how bad an idea backing up their colleague was and didn’t try to use them. Investigator Arcturus seemed to realise this as well, straightening up from where he had been preparing to dive towards one of the others with a grimace on his face.

“Get this scum out of my sight. The rest of you can help me work through the rest of the warehouse with my colleagues, just so that you can stop any other acts of stupidity that might rear their heads before I have to get involved.” The annihilation of their senior officer seemed to have sufficiently cowed the other Arbites, two of them moving to pick up the soon to be ex Sergeant whilst the others holstered their weapons and jumped to attention.

“Sorry for the interruption Inquisitor, will report in if I find anything of interest, Arcturus out.” The screen display of the Servo-skull stayed on, as there would be acolytes monitoring the strike teams even after we’d left, but giving the indication that the Inquisitor was no longer watching was a good move by Arcturus.

Even as I watched the other Arbites seemed to relax a little as their new commanding officer started gesturing in different directions, no doubt sending them to search areas he had already looked into to see what they came back with. They hadn’t even noticed the red dot that had been present on the middle Arbites’ chest, a sign that the Investigator had been covered by Agent Tarkan the entire time, even if he hadn’t seemed to need it.

“You were right Aquila, though I imagine Arcturus is wishing we had let him use that Arbites as proper example, despite his youth he really dislikes people trying to obstruct him in his investigations.” I could believe it, I had requested the backgrounds on the few acolytes the Inquisitor had that weren’t life long members of the secretive organisation, and Arcturus’ past was difficult to get hold of even from when he was a child. 

“The Nobles don’t like it when people poke around their holdings, they have far too many secrets they like hiding. Still, after today I doubt many people will willingly stand between your men and where we want them to go, which was the whole point of this little exercise. How about your other man?” Whilst there were two other groups currently doing business in our name, both of these were in the Underhive and therefore beyond traditional communication methods until they returned to the main Hive itself, so I concerned myself with the single part of this plan that I had no input on altogether.

“Psyker Able reported in half an hour ago, he has completed a tour of every building and street within 2 miles of here and is on his way back now…” Given that I was able to see this Able’s body from where I was stood, slouched in the middle of a complicated set of seals and sigils that he and the other psykers had spent most of the night working on, I couldn’t help but shiver at the sorcery that was clearly at work.

“Anything… Anything for us to be concerned about?” It was difficult, even with my experience, to hide my distaste of psykers and their powers. 

“Nothing more than what I usually find when I go on such walks Vice-Governor Aquila, some warp-tainted artefacts, a couple of imprisoned Demon’s waiting for the unwary to set them free. I have dealt with the Demon’s and noted the locations of the artefacts for the others to smite at their leisure.” Able’s voice carried across the room with such clarity that he might as well have been whispering in my ear, despite the fact the psyker had been talking at little more than a whisper from the moment his eyes shot open.

His voice carried very little inflection or emotion, a airy monotone that made it sound like he was reciting from a script whilst half awake, something that made him even more unnerving than a normal psyker in my opinion. The fact that he also absconded the usual robes and staff of a sanctioned psyker, and instead dressed in heavy combat armour with a sniper rifle and shotgun as armaments, actually helped my nerves a little as he looked less like a psyker and more like a Guardsman.

“Anything that we need to action immediately? From the look of it Brother Ios is done with the heretics and could…” The Inquisitor stopped as Able’s eyes suddenly glowed golden, a deeper and angrier tone voice erupting from his lips to interrupt her, his body rocketing to it’s feet and spasming as if having a fit.

“Nothing in this pomp covered shithole, but the Underhive teams are fucked if we do not attend to them soon, that idiot Kaleb found a Demonic artefact and it is currently winning the battle to possess him. I warned him about metal bound wood and skin, bastard just doesn’t know good advice when it’s given.” The Inquisitor didn’t seem to care that one of her acolytes had just interrupted her, and was seemingly possessed to boot, and it was only when her hand forcefully lowered my own did I realise I had drawn my newest weapons on reflex. 

Given the potential foes that could be trying to infiltrate the Upper Hive, and the fact that they would definitely be targeting me when we started acting more openly, I had upgraded from my more ‘relaxed’ casual weaponry.  I now had a pair of fully loaded bolt pistols, as well as a servitor following me at all times with more ammo and a twin linked bolter to provide cover whilst I was reloading if necessary. 

“I will explain later.” The Inquisitor’s eyes were cold even as Able stopped spasming and returned to what I could only assume was normal, the Inquisitor shifting her gaze from myself to Able as the other Acolytes around us were suddenly gearing up.

“Threat level Able, do we need Brother Ios?” Able was sweating and pale in the face, a sign that whatever had just happened took a lot out of him, but he still responded as best he could with a shake of his head.

“Threat level Majoris, the two of us will be sufficient, though we will need a guide to the lower housing districts as my visions did not provide me with an expedited route. Vice-Governor, you are familiar with this area correct?” How Able knew that, given we had not exchanged more than two words prior to this was a mystery, but despite his monotone there was a glint in his eyes that implied a level of amusement I did not expect.

“I do, I will take us there now, given the nature of that district direct access from the Upper Hives is restricted. My presence should prevent any unfortunate attempts to delay us.” I could already guess that Able had not merely brought up my past for discussion’s sake, and despite my currently unadventurous lifestyle I did in fact have prior experience with dealing with those possessed by Demons, primarily whilst on missions for Elihath.

The reason that access to the lower Hive housing districts was restricted is due to the food riots we had almost twenty years ago, Underhivers using the elevator route to invade the upper districts and cause havoc across several prominent Noble’s estates. As such, the elevators could now only be activated by key personnel, and they had armed guards present at all times. Whilst the Inquisitor should be able to pass with little difficulty, from the sounds of it every second would count.

“Lead on then Aquila, Serah will also accompany us but primarily to make sure we aren’t being followed.” We headed to the hangar, even though the Upper Hive was much smaller than the Lower or Under Hive sections the elevator entrance that we required was still several kilometers away. The landing area near the elevator would not be big enough for the Thunderhawk gunship, so I had order my personal pilot to prepare my much smaller personal transport for us to use.

Able hadn’t said a word since giving us a location, the man shuffling a tarot deck in a skilled and practiced manner that almost made it seem like the cards were shuffling themselves. The Inquisitor on the other hand, hadn’t stopped pacing since we had stepped aboard the transport several minutes before, relaying orders and instructions via servo-skull to the Acolytes that had remained in the Administration building.

“You haven’t looked this nervous since you first invited me to dinner.” That left me with Serah, who had taken her new responsibility of shadowing me everywhere I went very seriously, evidenced by the fact she had spent the night in the ceiling alcove of my bedroom. 

She also had insisted on following me  _ everywhere _ , which led to probably the most awkward shower I had endured in years. It was nice to have her back though, even if it was only temporary given the circumstances, she always had a _ unique  _ way of challenging me.

“What do you want me to say Serah? That I'm not as worried about going to fight a demon as I was asking you on a date? You're scary, but not that scary… Most of the time.” The elbow to my ribs told me I had won that round, but as we came into land and the bay door opened to show the usual dreary drizzle that dominated the Hive’s weather systems, I didn't feel all that confident.

For the first time in 10 years, I was descending into the depths of the place I once called home. And even ignoring the genocidal infiltrating Xenos that could take out a Guard squad on their own, there were more than enough monsters in the dark places of the Underhive to drag them into the abyss….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: New Chapter, rewrites of all the old chapters, new characters and action abound. What more do you people want? I like the depth of character that you can put into any character in a 40K story, and I also like the fact that none of you would have seen heretic hunting and Demon possessions as some of the initial plot points in a story about Hive Fleet Behemoth.
> 
> But that is 40 K at it's best, a constant battle against the many and varied foes of the Imperium whilst doing your best not to allow corruption and panic to spread amongst your own sheeple, where the pursuit of one enemy can lead to the revelation of a thousand others.
> 
> Let me know what you think of my characters, and if anyone has any (not too outlandish) suggestions of other acolytes that the Inquisitor could have (looking for a couple of less combat oriented ones probably), let me know and I will give any suggestions a good read.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy,
> 
> Defias Out!


	6. Demon in the Deep

"More mutant scum coming up behind us!" My call was probably unneeded, as the cries and shouts of the heretical scum was loud enough to be heard even over the gun battle going on behind me.

We had made good time initially, the area that Able described to me during the elevator ride one I remembered from my younger years, and I knew several routes that would get us there quickly. It seemed that the Demon knew of our approach though, as dozens of mutants and other such warp tainted beings started to converge towards us, obviously hoping to slow us down until it completed it's attempt to possess this Kaleb Able had talked about.

"Judgement, 5 of Swords, The Hanged Man…" Able's mutterings had annoyed me at first, especially when his tarot readings seemed to be considered more important that helping fight the mutants.

But as a trio of glowing cards flew past my head, one turning into a series of blades in mid-flight, I knew not to question the Psyker's way of manifesting his power. The second card slammed into a massive mutant armed with a heavy stubber, the beast dropping the weapon to claw futilely at it's neck, the third landing not too far from the doorway I was using as cover.

No doubt it would act as an unwelcome surprise to anyone who stepped on it, and the other two spells caused enough damage to allow me to shift out of cover to fire once more. I still wasn't fully used to the recoil of the bolt pistols, and I could still only fire one at a time without being thrown completely off balance, but I was getting better at it.

Even as I backed up towards the others, I fired alternating shots in rapid succession, most of the bolter shells maiming and killing at least two of the lightly armoured mutants. The destructive power of a bolt pistol more than made up for the expensive cost, both of the pistols themselves and their ammunition. My servitor was providing cover fire for me, but given it's large frame and lack of defensive instincts such as the use of cover, it had taken more than a small amount of damage.

"Take a left up ahead Inquisitor, the Industrial Complex Able described isn't far!" Ducking behind a wall as the mutants drew a bead on my position, I took a moment to look further up the street, where the Inquisitor and the others were continuing their own bloody reaping.

Serah was like a black shadow, darting from one piece of cover to another, always advancing ahead of her mistress and cutting down the mutants barring the way without pause or mercy. The three arbiters, that we had rescued from being overwhelmed by the mutant onslaught, were providing solid if unimpressive cover fire to support our advance.

"The World, reversed… The God Emperor, The Knight of Swords." Where most of us were darting between cover to avoid fire and other threats, the two psykers were like bastions in the chaos, a crackling shield deflecting bullets and other munitions with terrifying ease.

Able was still reading the Tarot cards, but unlike before he wasn't using his hands, the cards shuffling themselves in mid-air before drawing themselves and glowing with power. His powers seemed to manifest differently, depending on which of the cards he drew and manifested, my body and weapons suddenly feeling almost weightless as a golden warrior manifested itself in front of the psyker.

It was one of the most impressive psychic powers I had ever seen, the warrior dressed in golden power armour and armed with a huge double handed blade that was bigger than I was. It's very presence seemed to wash away my fears and concerns, and judging by the cries of panic I could hear from the mutants behind me it had the opposite effect on the heretics.

"Come Governor, Serah and the Arbites will keep this filth busy, we must move faster to deal with the demon." Whilst Able's airy monotone seemed to carry to my ears, regardless of what volume of speech he was using, the Inquisitor had to resort to raising her voice to a shout to get my attention.

"Understood Inquisitor, Servitor! Order B13-346, transfer voice command control to Serah!" It had been something of a personal weakness, to keep Serah's voice identity on the command inputs of my personal servitors, even after she had tried to kill me.

But as she often pointed out to me in our younger years, my sentimentality was one of the my biggest personal quirks, so I imagined she wasn't too surprised by my call. The Golden warrior stalked towards the mutants that had been firing at my position, their fire rapidly shifting as it broke into a surprisingly graceful run to close the distance.

The path was now somewhat clear, allowing me to quickly move through the corpses and general debris caused by defeating the mutants that had previously stood in our way. When we had dealt with the demon I would need to order a group here to collect the equipment left behind, as well as burn the bodies to prevent potential contamination of the holy citizens that still lived here with their foul mutations.

"Kaleb isn't going to last long Mistress, Balthazar is distracting the Demon as best he can, but he isn't suited to such long range psyker combat!" Able's voice had the slightest inflection of concern on it as he spoke loudly for the first time since I met him, and that was more concerning than the amount of psychic energy he was casually tossing around.

"Very well. I will intervene directly…" The Inquisitor's words reeked of power, and as I caught up with the two of them I could smell ozone in the air.

Suddenly, a lightning bolt shot from the body of the psyker's shield, jumping between at least a dozen of our opponents in the time it took for my head to turn and follow it. Several of them caught fire, or their stored ammunition exploded, creating additional panic in the remaining mutants as the three of us strode forward.

"Feel the Emperor's fury…" Two more lightning bolts and 3 more of Able's Tarot cards later, with a few bolter shells of my own fired into the mix, and the mutants were either fleeing or dead in the wake of our advance.

I found myself relegated to the role of range support, and I found myself wishing I had brought a weapon more suitable for such a position, but that was something I could remedy for next time. Able broke into a run as we entered the Industrial complex he had highlighted, and I could hear the sounds of fighting ahead.

Following after the man, I found us running into the back of another mutant position, making me wonder quite how far spread the demon had enticed the heretics from. I knew there were pockets of mutants within the Lower and Under Hives, but we had killed at least 100 of the beasts and there were still more for us to fell.

My Bolt pistols spat righteous fury as we swept into the mutant's positions, many of them not even having time to turn before we cut them down, though Able was ignoring all but the mutants that blocked his route forwards. As the mutants started to flee, I could see why.

"By the Emperor…" We had entered the remnants of what had once been a factory warehouse, though as it fell in the path of the Hive's primary Acid Rain clouds, it had long been abandoned and fallen into disrepair.

It was a massive structure still, overgrown with the hardy and often lethal vegetation that had long adapted to life in the Hive's poisonous environment, a multitude of holes of various shapes and sizes littering the roof of the structure. This was only noticed in the periphery of my sight line though, as my eyes were fixed on the floating body almost 100 metres away, it's entire being gripped in a baleful light that illuminated the entire warehouse like a dread sun.

Dozens of people were crowded in the centre of the room beneath the writhing body, whilst I could see flashes of gunfire around the rest of the room, all towards the far corner of the warehouse. It was only as one of the people underneath the possessed body had their head removed by a bolter shell, whilst the body remained standing and swaying rhythmically, did I realise that they weren't people any longer.

"Governor, I need you to move round as quietly as you can and deal with those that are defending the Demon. When Able and I move forward to combat the fiend directly, we cannot afford any distractions." Not exactly the easiest of missions, especially given it had been years since I had utilised my gang and thief experience.

But given the other choice was to join them in combatting a Demon possessed psyker, I decided not to offer a protest. Even as I moved towards one of the nearby stairwells, I caught sight of the rest of the Inquisitor's acolytes, the power armour clad Sister of Battle the most prominent of them, stood in the middle of some decayed manufactorum machinery as she fired calmly with her bolter.

I was out of practice, especially considering I was doing this in light power armour, but Able's earlier psychic manifestation still seemed to be aiding me as I practically flew up the stairs. Free climbing was a risky but essential skill for any Hiver to learn, and though the power armour was far from quiet it allowed me to traverse the damaged sections up to the higher gantries far easier than I would have been able to otherwise.

The gunfire covered up most of the noise my movement generated, but as I reached the main gantry I found myself facing two mutants, who had obviously heard me and had come to investigate. Given they only seemed to be armed with Auto-pistols, and of dubious quality at best given the rust and other contamination covering the weapons, I decided not to bother with my bolt pistols.

Slipping them onto the magnetic holsters on my waist, I charged forward. The mutants raised their weapons, but the first of them was sent careening over the edge of the gantry by the impact of my charge before he could open fire. The second fired a shot, which pinged off my chest plate, before my power armoured fist buried itself in the thing's distended stomach.

Whilst I was no Adeptus Astartes, power armour still made me stronger than even the strongest Hive Ganger, and following it up with a second punch to the neck was probably slightly overkill. The mutant fell without a sound, allowing me to continue forward unimpeded, the sounds of gunfire getting closer as I approached what seemed to be a control station.

Moving up to the side of the structure, I poked my head around the still intact wall of the station and through the broken window. I could see 8 mutants firing down at the lower floor, with weapons ranging from autoguns to an honest to the Emperor crossbow. All of them were so focussed on the fight below, that as I shifted over to the doorway and drew my pistols, not a single one of them noticed.

The first shell turned a mutant's chest to gristle, whilst also removing the arm of one of its compatriots next to it, whilst the second and third felled another three between them. By this time the mutants had started to react, but as my first bolt pistol clicked dry there was only the injured one left.

The pitiful creature struggled to raise it's autogun with it's single good arm, screaming abuse at me as I strode forward and slammed the butt of one of my guns into it's face, sending the thing collapsing to the floor. Raising my armoured boot, I stomped down viciously before turning my attention out of the window.

I had taken out the main mutant position it seemed, as the lack of supporting fire was allowing the Inquisitor's acolytes to move from their defensive positions and go on the offensive for the first time since we had arrived. Even as the Sister of Battle I had seen earlier charged towards the nearest mutant, holstering her bolter and drawing what looked like a chainsword as she did so, a flash of light drew my attention back to the body in the middle.

" **Inquisitor… How delightful for you to join us. I was getting bored."** The body was no longer floating horizontally, instead it was like it was stood in the air, looking down at where the Inquisitor and Able were moving across the floor.

"Prepared to be banished back to whatever pitiful section of the warp your kind fester in Demon!" The Inquisitor's cry was met with a baleful laugh as the possessed seemed to spasm for several moments before turning back to her with a vicious smile.

" **Speaking of festering Inquisitor, why don't my newest slaves entertain you? They should be just about done…"** As one the corpses turned towards the Inquisitor, and paying attention to them once more I couldn't help but be appalled at their appearance.

Every visible inch of their skin was covered in red rashes, or sickening pustules that oozed sickening green fluid. Even as they shambled forward though, Able looked up from his tarot cards, which he had taken back to shuffling manually once more.

"Strength, the Sun. Purge the Unclean!" Even as he threw two of the cards forward, both overlapping as they came to rest in front of him, what could only be described as an inferno rolled forwards from his position.

I was almost 30 feet from the ground, and I still had to pull back from the window as the heat of the flames threatened to affect me, everything in the room bathed in the orange light of the psychic power for a few moments before they suddenly disappeared.

" **Why Inquisitor, such a delightful new minion you have enslaved to your pathetic ideals. Such strong powers, and yet not the slightest of cracks in his mental shielding from the exertion. I will enjoy breaking him!"** I looked back over the edge of the window, the residual heat of the fire still present, even if the flames themselves were gone.

The plague zombies were mere ash and bone, even after such short exposure to the intense flames. The Demon was no longer floating, but had drawn a fearsome looking blade from somewhere and had shot forwards, Able straining to maintain a golden shield he had obviously summoned in his defence as the Demon tried to overcome him. The Inquisitor struck outwards with her blade, which I hadn't seen in her possession let alone draw, the long and thin rapier crackling with power.

The Demon dodged with almost embarrassing ease, but the bolt of lightning that shot from the Inquisitor's free hand caught it full on, sending it skidding backwards a few steps but otherwise it looked almost unharmed.

" **Your powers have grown Inquisitor, my master will be most displeased. Still, I wonder how you plan on stopping me, without killing your** _ **precious Acolyte…**_ " The Demon's attempt at mocking the Inquisitor seemed to have an effect for a moment, the normally unflappable woman pausing in mid incantation, but before she could respond Able's hands flicked three cards out once more.

"The Despoiler, reversed. The God Emperor Ascendant, The Hierophant." The Demon's eyes widened as Able spoke, flinging it's demonic sword in the psyker's direction with a howl.

" **Die!"** Even as the Inquisitor moved to try and deflect the blade, I knew it would be too late. The blade struck the first of the three cards, and shattered like it was made of glass, before a golden figure of a man in long flowing robes appeared, wielding a double handed hammer.

"Begone." Even though Able's tone remained a monotone, the very air seemed to shift with the weight of hatred he put behind that one word.

The golden man shot forward so quickly my eyes only caught his movement as a blur, swinging it's hammer through the possessed body, the demonic energy swirling around the body disappearing almost instantly. It was replaced with a golden light, which seemed to infuse every part of the man's body, as his body dropped to the floor with a thud.

Seeing as the fighting was over, I moved back out of the control station, turning the opposite way to the approach I had originally used. I had seen a set of gantry stairs not too far from the station, and that would be quicker than going back around. It took a couple of minutes, but it was a far easier passage than free climbing, and I used the time to check on Serah.

"Serah, are you okay? We have dealt with the Demon if you need support." There was a moment of silence before a snort of amusement came across the comms.

"You think these mutants would cause me trouble Aquila? I was killing these creatures when I was 10 years old. One of the Arbites bought it, but the mutants started in full retreat about a minute ago. I am closing on your position now, whilst the remaining Arbites go call for someone to clean up." That was true, but that didn't prevent the smile of relief that came over my face as I finished walking towards the Inquisitor.

"See you shortly then Serah." There was a sigh, but Serah managed to restrain herself from saying whatever it was she wanted to say, which undoubtedly would have been rather sassy and sarcastic in the face of my concern.

"The mutants are dealt with?" The Inquisitor had just finished directing her now rescued Acolytes, and had obviously heard him speaking Serah's name, her face showing the strain her psyker powers had put upon her.

"They are Inquisitor, thank the Emperor that we managed to make it in time. Will your Acolyte be okay?" Usually Demonic possession was cause for immediate summary execution, to prevent potential heretical contamination from continuing to corrupt the individual and those around him.

But this was the Inquisition, if there was one thing they were known for in my book, it was ignoring the standard Imperium doctrines and rules. My eyes followed the Inquisitor's as she turned to cast an eye towards the now unconscious Acolyte, Able stood over him and muttering something under his breath.

"He will need to be tested thoroughly, and I have several rituals that he WILL undergo if he wishes to live past the end of the week, but Able wouldn't have been so restrained if he had felt Kaleb was a lost cause…" My eyes widened even as a golden shield sprang up around Kaleb's body, before I turned to look at the charred remnants of the plague zombies.

That was Able holding back?!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: If people can't tell, I have played more than one game of Dark Heresy in my time, and this will greatly influence some of the characters I create for this story. Both Investigator Arcturus and Pysker Able are my personal characters, with Able in particular gaining a reputation at our Games club of being pretty much unkillable with the right combination of basic Psyker powers and a ridiculous Willpower.
> 
> I have deviated slightly from my original character though, as I love the idea of a set of Psyker powers based around the Emperor's tarot/normal Tarot cards, especially if it was randomised. Imagine facing a Demon, and then accidentally drawing a card that increases the power of warp powers and entities…
> 
> On a more serious note, I have to offer an apology now. I have recently bought a house, which all of a sudden means I have suddenly got to worry about this whole 'being an adult and managing my budget' thing. I know I don't post regularly, but this is me letting you guys know that that rate is going to drop significantly going forward.
> 
> I did set up P a treon account, but I don't think what I offer on here is going to be worth people spending money on. Though, if you want to check it out, it is the same username as I use here. Perhaps I am being overly pessimistic.
> 
> I have muscled through all of my working stories to provide you with a new chapter for each of them, I hope you all enjoy them, and apologies for the bad news.
> 
> Let me know what you think guys!
> 
> Defias out


End file.
